Green Things

Thanks to Wriggle Farms Daniel & Bronwyn and Green footprints Tim Newton for their presentations at the first of our 2015 Worm and Chicken workshops . The Centres next workshop will be Solar Power in mid April. Free used worm farm email j.somerville@xtra.co.nz

WAIKATO BOTANICAL SOCIETY

A reminder our next Waikato Botanical Society trip is to Aotea Scientific Reserve, a unique area that is normally inaccessible to the public.

Other upcoming events including Pirongia / Kaniwhaniwha April 18, Chatham Islands Talk and AGM April 20, Ganoderma Awaroa hunt May 10. More will be added to our website in the coming days.

Aotea Scientific Reserve March 28-29

A very special trip to a stunning transgressive dune system on the northern head of the Aotea Harbour. We will take a boat across the harbour on Saturday to the southern end of the dunes which includes ephemeral wetlands, a lagoon and coastal kanuka forest. On Sunday we will drive around the harbour to explore the more modified northern end.

Bring: If staying overnight please bring sleeping bag, pillow, something to share for a potluck dinner on Saturday night and breakfast and lunch for Sunday.

Meet: Saturday 10am at Aotea boat ramp, end of Lawton Drive. Sunday 8.30am at Te Kauri Lodge or 9.30am at the end of Phillips Rd (north end of Aotea).

The next newsletter is going to be out soon. If anyone has anything they would like to contribute, such as anything botanically related, or any upcoming events, please feel free to send an article to me to include in the next newsletter by next Friday at the latest.

In 2005, we conducted a census of 27 listening sites to help give us a baseline for our kiwi population.

Results from that survey indicated that the kiwi population within our Sanctuary was around 160 birds.

We now have an opportunity to repeat this census 10 years later, to see how our kiwi are benefiting from all the pest control undertaken on their behalf. We are looking for volunteers to help undertake kiwi listening at one or more of our sites between May-July 2015.

What can volunteers expect?

There are 21 sites inside the Moehau Environment Group Kiwi Sanctuary (near Colville), and a further 6 sites between Papa Aroha and the 309 Rd that we would like to survey. Each site needs to be surveyed for 2 hours, on three separate nights during the periods 8 May to 29 May; 8 June to 28 June; 7 July to 26 July. So a minimum of 6 hours listening over three nights would be expected.

Kiwi listening involves sitting very quietly in the dark and cold for two hours at a designated site, silently waiting for kiwi that may or may not call. After 60 minutes, you will solicit for kiwi calls, playing a taped kiwi call sequence at high volume on your broadcast set, repeating the same call sequence after 75 minutes, 90 minutes and 105 minutes. Stop recording after 120 minutes. Ideally you would space out your listens at each site so that they are not done on consecutive nights. However, do whatever works for you within the constraints of the moon phases.

We’d love you to involved with our 2015 census! For more info or to sign up email Natalie@meg.org.nz--

Natalie Collicott

Coordinator

Moehau Environment Group

07 866 533707 866 5337

027 3585281027 3585281

www.meg.org.nz

THE NZ TREE PROJECT

If you have not already heard about this fantastic project please read on below and be sure to follow their exciting progress on the website and facebook etc. The project is currently underway in Pureora Forest, as we sit at our desks...

Please see message and links below.

Hello fellow tree lovers!

I have a very special project that I'd like to tell you all about. I have brought together a team of scientists, artists (photo and video) and tree climbers with the grand aim of combining some highly technical climbing skills with some cutting-edge photographic techniques to create a state of the art exhibition about A TREE!

Put simply, we are going to do this in New Zealand

We will be designing and constructing a specialised rigging system to capture images of a Pureora rimu from a level viewpoint and without distortion. The exhibition will showcase the tree through a larger-than-life, 3D experience and will be a celebration of NZâs fabulous forests.

The Camp this year will be at Okataina Education and Recreation Trust Outdoor Education Centre, east of Rotorua. The camp is situated in beautiful native bush 3km from Lake Okataina. For Forest and Bird members who haven't experienced a Waikato Branch camp before:

• Meet people who know and love native trees, birds etc;

• Enjoy children of all ages making fun together;

• Get some fresh air and exercise;

• Quite possibly be beyond 'reception';

• Become part of a community that explores, learns, plays, cooks, and cleans together. (Everyone is put in a team. Participation is essential and a good way to get to know others).

Beds $20.00 night adult, (children ½). Food purchased by organisers and cost shared; usually less that $50 per adult (children ½) for Friday dinner to Monday lunch. Deposit: $50 per adult, $25 per child. Help us plan by booking soon. Email: jane.mcleod64@gmail.com with questions/bookings.

FRIENDS OF PUKEMOKEMOKE

Working Bee Saturday MARCH 21st 1pm

EcoQuest came early in the month with a horde of capable young workers and they got stuck into most of the convolvulus and some of the privet. They also significantly advanced the track marking project and pricked out about 900 rimu seedlings for the next stage of their growth. Capable and energetic.

After their huge effort Warwick and I have both been travelling. I looked around for the power switch to turn it off while we were away so we wouldn't come back to a tangle of weeds. There wasn't one, so I suppose that everything has kept on growing. I'm sacred to look.

This weekend there are all sorts of options on offer. More privet, of course, more track marking and more weeding too. You can choose from those, as usual.

In the next day or two I plan to check all of the tracks to locate any blockages that Pam might have caused. We already know of a couple of big privets that have been missed and need to be removed so they could go into the job too for a suitably skilled and equipped team.

I went for a walk up a hill behind Nelson a couple of weeks ago and was impressed by the care that had gone into the drainage and forming of the track. If you think you have skills to offer in this field please let me know.

This Saturday. The usual time. The usual warm welcome and gratitude that you have come. Not the usual scones - the aim is always to make a better scone than the last.

Regards

Keith

NEW KIWI RELEASED ON MAUNGATAUTARI

Sanctuary Mountain welcomed two new kiwi on Monday 9 March. Waipa District Councillors Sue Milner and Vern Wilson gave the birds their official release into their new burrows.

The release was done as part of a “swapping” programme run between Sanctuary Mountain and Ngati Rangi, the iwi covering the areas of Waimarino, Ohakune and the Upper Whanganui River.

Since the programme was introduced during the early days, 25 kiwi have been translocated from Waimarino to Maungatautari and 17 from Maungatautari to Waimarino in return. “Swaps” have taken place with other areas also. This is done to diversify the gene pool so that the birds can have a self-sustaining population.

New Visitor Hours and Tour Times

Our visitors centre is now open from 8:30 am to 4:00 pm and these hours will continue through all seasons. The change was made to help us capitalise on visitors who often turn up before 10:00 am, which was our old opening time. We also want to get more people enjoying the mountain earlier; after all, the birds do, so why shouldn’t our visitors?

Our tour times have also changed. Our ‘Ancient Forest’ tour of the Southern Enclosure, now runs at 9:00 am and 11:00 am. You can see kaka being fed on this tour on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays.

‘Secrets of the Tautari Wetland’ runs daily at 1:00 pm.

Please ring or check our website for information on tour prices and new offerings.

LANDCARE NETWORKING FIELD DAY FLYER for sending through your networks and newsletters.